


This Is My Note - I'm A Fake

by Simply0Suki



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Post Reichenbach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 04:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/658169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simply0Suki/pseuds/Simply0Suki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an alternate universe where John is given Sherlock's final note in the form of video recordings. It's all a lie, he isn't Sherlock Holmes, Brook isn't Moriarty and he isn't even John Watson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

John sat completely empty. He couldn't turn on the TV, couldn't read the paper, couldn't even leave the house without being reminded that the world believed his best friend was a fake. But he knew the truth. Sherlock Holmes was the greatest, smartest man he had ever met and no one could convince him otherwise. So here he sat alone seemingly the only person in the world to remember Sherlock Holmes for the great works he had done. 

The bell rang. Probably another reporter coming to get John to confess that his friend had been a fake. At least there was Ms. Hudson to send them away. But oddly he heard footsteps on the stairs. He turned his head to look at the door. The biggest movement he had made all day. Ella Thompson, his therapist, was at the door. "Hello John"

He looked away not wanting to see her or anyone else.

"John we have to talk. Your landlady is concerned, says you haven't left the flat all week." Without invitation she entered the room and sat in the chair opposite him. Sherlock's chair. His heart hurt just thinking of the last time someone had sat there. His eyes shifted to the ground.

"I know you don't want to talk to me but I have to tell you." She spoke softly as if speaking to a scared and wounded animal. "Before he, well, did what he did, he sent me a text with instructions concerning you." 

John finally met her gaze. He knew who she was talking about and wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.

"He said to watch you and hoped that you would move on but if not I was to come talk to you and ask if you would like to know the truth."

John still hadn't spoken. Of course he wanted to know the truth but could he believe anything she said?

"I don't want to change anything if there is hope that you can move forward but you look." She paused looking him over. "Honestly John you don't look well. When's the last time you ate?"

"The truth. I'd like to know" He had to know even if it was just another made up story, he had to know what she believed.

Ella took a deep breath. "He was my patient was well. Though he suffered from something much different from you."

Sherlock had a therapist? Who on earth could convince that man to sit through anything so dull.

"I have to confess to you I'm not even fully trained as a therapist. I work for his brother, Mycroft. He assigned me to watch over him and you and talk to you as if I was your therapist. You were my only two clients and I gave my notes to him."

"You reported everything to....him?" John was having trouble making sense of it. He had met Ella before Sherlock. "Why did he choose me?"

"Mycroft didn't choose you. His brother did"

"But...we hadn't met." Nothing was making sense and his head was hurting.

"You had, you just didn't know it." Ella opened her purse and pulled out a file. "When you were shot you were brought into the hospital. After your surgery you were unconscious for a couple weeks and that's when he chose you." She opened the folder, the first page appeared to be John's hospital records followed by photos of John in the hospital. He was tied up to various machines his eyes closed and sure enough there was Sherlock at his side. "I don't know what drew him to you but he picked you." She handed the photos to John to get a better look at. 

"In some of these.....he's wearing a hospital gown too." He looked up at her questioningly. 

"He was a patient too, he was sick though for him it wasn't his body so much as his mind. At the time Mycroft had me stationed as a volunteer helping to keep tabs on his brother and you his new interest. It seemed he couldn't stand being with the nurses or other patients but he would often be found sitting by your bedside talking to you. He would never speak when I entered the room so I don't know what he was saying but it made him happier so there was no point in stopping it. Once you woke up Mycroft arranged for me to be your therapist in the hopes I could discover why his brother had taken such an interest in you. You seemed ordinary to me and Mycroft did his best to ensure you two were kept separate but somehow he found you again and next thing we knew you had moved in together. Mycroft wanted it stopped but you seemed to be doing good for his brother so he left you as you were in the hopes you might be able to fix him."

"Suppose I go along with you and accept that what you say is true. You keep saying Sherlock was sick but I didn't see anything but a well functioning man."

"That's all I was told to tell you, my side of the story." She reached into her purse again. "The rest I'm told you'll find on here." She pulled out Sherlock's phone and handed it to John. With that she stood leaving the file on the her seat. "If you have any questions you can look in there or call me if you need to talk though I don't know how much I'll be allowed to tell you. I fear I may have already stepped outside my limits but it was his dying wish." She gave a smile that was more of a sad apology than anything else before walking to the door. She turned before leaving. "It's not too late to just loose the phone and file and live with the memories you have. But that's your choice not mine. Good bye John." 

With that she was gone and John was left sitting in the same spot only now holding the phone of his dead best friend and his head swimming with questions.


	2. Hello John

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attempt to explain to John. Finally the truth as to who the brilliant man is

John sat staring at the phone. _It's not too late_ Ella had said. What would he find on this phone? He had to know now. Whatever he learned he would deal with once he had all the facts. 

He pressed the power button and the phone asked him for a four digit password. He thought for a moment. 

221b - denied

1895 - denied 

sher - denied

note - denied

John ran a hand over his face, at this rate he wouldn't even be able to open the phone. It had to be something Sherlock would know he would get if he had told Ella to give it to him. There's an idea

ella - denied - five tries remaining

John stared at the screen looking blankly back at him. Sherlock what had you made your password?

John - password correct

A click and the phone opened to the home screen. John gave a small smile to fight back the urge to cry. There were no new messages, nothing written in the notes app, no emails, he tired videos. There was a list of numbered videos. He tapped on the one simply titled _1_

Next thing John knew he was looking at Sherlock who was sitting in what appeared to be his bedroom. 

"Hello John" Sherlock gave a weak smile. 

"I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing this but with so many lies I figure the truth should be told somewhere if for some reason I don't get the chance to do it myself."

John couldn't believe what he was watching. Seeing Sherlock again and hearing his voice was almost more than he could take and it required all his concentration to stay focused on what Sherlock was saying.

"I hope that whatever happened has left us on good terms and if it has I just want to say thank you. You have been my best friend and I thank you for that. Please John you don't need to know anything else. For your own sanity turn off this phone and forget me. Move on with your life. We had a good run" He gave a small nod and the video ended.

Without wasting a moment John tapped on the next video. He had to keep watching Sherlock, he just had too. 

"Hello John"

"The truth then. Right to the point. I am not Sherlock Holmes."

John restarted the video to be sure he had heard it correctly but sure enough that's what he had said. 

"My name is Rhett Djurfeldt and almost everything I have told you has been a lie." 

John wanted to cry but his eyes stayed glued on the man who had Sherlock's voice and body but said nothing his best friend would have. Even the way he spoke was off, something about the care Sherlock put into choosing each word.

"Our first meeting was even a lie. I was in the hospital because my mental sickness had begun to affect my physical wellness. I'm not a consulting detective and I didn't invent the job. I'm an actor and as is Richard Brook. There is no Moriarty." He looked through the screen with sad eyes. "Three years before I met you in that hospital Brook and I were working on a new project for TV called _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes._ I played the lead while Brook my nemesis. I became obsessed with the role, I lived and breathed the character and fell in love with being the genius who saved the day. Richard and I would go out for meals after days of shooting, he was really my only friend."

John paused the video. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to. Sherlock or Rhett or whoever he was was an actor? how could any of it be true? Like some sort of addiction he had to keep watching and resumed the video.

"Sometimes we'd go to this bar and when we'd had a few too many drinks we'd pretend we were Holmes and Moriarty. We'd repeat our lines and have intellectual battles just for the fun of it. After two years of working on the project the show was cancelled even before we had a chance to air. No one go the chance to see me as Sherlock Holmes. I had loved the character and allowed him to become a part of me. It's hard for me to admit but I owe you the entire truth. I couldn't find work, my resume was lacking, I had been lucky to get that job offer. Work was hard to find but drugs were oh so easy. I lost myself in them and if it hadn't been for my brother I think I would have killed myself. He got me into rehab and that's how I found my way into the hospital. The drugs had messed with my brain though and at times I was convinced I was Sherlock Holmes. I think the stimulants were latching onto my last happy memory." He gave another weak smile. "Now you know about me and the lier I am. The fake with nothing to show for in life. But if you think it ends there you're wrong, not only did I ruin my life, I took over yours. It was so easy and you were practically begging for it" There was an almost manic look in his eyes before he blinked a few times. "I'm sorry....I....Please John I'm begging you. You don't want to know" 

The video ended. The man in the video was nothing like the Sherlock Holmes he had known. This one was unstable, his speak pattern was off, was it really possible this Rhett as he claimed to be had managed to keep up such a solid front for so long or had John really become so blind that he couldn't see it?

He tapped the next video and he was back only this time from the kitchen of baker street. 

"Hello John"

"I promised to myself I would get through this. Not that it will ever be enough to make up for what I've done but at least you'll know." He took a deep breath before continuing. "The day we first met I was almost through with my recovery. I was sick of everyone in the hospital with their hopeful manner acting like everyone would get better. That's why I came to your room. You were unconscious, hopeless, and it made me feel better. I would sit beside you and tell you about the Sherlock Holmes set and all the regrets I had about the show. It made me feel better just being near you so I read you the scripts and the made up cases. One day when I was sitting with you about the case involving a hound which we never got to film you opened your eyes and looked at me. You were heavily drugged but the first word you said was Sherlock. Somehow my stories had got into your sleep and you thought I was Sherlock. I wanted to run form the room but I couldn't. You just looked at me so confused. You asked where you were and I told you the hospital. That was probably a mistake because you started to panic. I told you to calm down and I called you John because that's what I had grown to call you. You were the John Doe of the hospital, no one knew your name only that you had been shipped back to London badly wounded not likely to survive. You asked me if John was your name and I went along with it saying yes. You asked me what your last name was and I told you it was Watson simply because I am selfish and that was the name of the sidekick from my days as Sherlock Holmes. I left after that knowing what I had done was wrong."

John couldn't believe it, this man had chosen his name?

"That day I promised I wouldn't see you again but I just couldn't stay away. A few months later I hired Mike Standford to track you down. I had looked at Ella's notes. My brother thinks he is so clever sometimes but I was able to learn everything about you from our so called therapist. I found out you had been diagnosed as severely concust and Ella had found you were still very open to accepting things other people said even if you should know they were false. I told Mike to tell you he was an old pal of yours and bring you to me. It worked didn't id? He said you were confused for only a moment before agreeing that you had been mates before you left for the war. And so we were flat mate. You thought I was Sherlock Holmes a brilliant detective and you were my John Watson. You fed my obsession with being him. Creating the life of Sherlock Holmes was too easy. Lestrade the head detective had not two years prior been in a low spot and had been my dealer. When I showed up at his station I simply requested he go along with my game and I'd keep my mouth shut. He'd solve the case let me look as if I had done it and then he could take all the credit as if I was being humble. It fooled you, the police force and everyone else it seems." He stopped and seemed to being looking through time to look John in eyes. "I'm sorry John I know this is a lot to take in but I did warn you. I should be telling this to your face but I just can't, the game has become too complicated. Richard Brook found out about my little game after your blog started to be noticed. He contacted me and demanded to know what I was trying to play at. He threatened to expose me but I convinced him to play along with me and I even offered to pay him. So that's where we stand, there is no evil villain, it's all a game."

The video ended and John's head fell into his hands. It was all too much he couldn't take it. How could someone be capable of all this? He took a moment to consider everything. He picked up the file and flipped through it, there was proof of everything 'Rhett' was claiming. 

There were two more videos left. It was too late to stop now. The video began, he was in the living room.

"Hello John"

"I don't have long" He looked up past the camera as if checking for someone the camera couldn't see. "Richard Brook has just admitted he is going to tell the world the truth and I want you to hear it from me. That's what I recorded all those other videos for after all, I suppose some part of me knew it would come to this one day. You just left the room after telling me you still believed in me because no one could be such an annoying prat all the time. You were wrong. But you need to know our friendship was true. You are my best friend John and you saved me from myself. Even if it was just to escape to a world I made up you saved me." John heard himself from the video call Sherlock's name. "Goodbye John"

Best Friend? Had he just said best friend? How could that man say that after everything he had just watched. Everything had been a lie. He tapped on the last video, he was in the lab, the lights were dark and he was holding the same rubber ball he had been bouncing when John had left him to go save Ms. Hudson. 

"Hello John"

"This is the last chance I will have to make a video for you. The game has got out of hand. I've had time to think about this though not long mind you but I have made my decision. I'm going to kill Richard Brook. No I'm going to talk to him and he's going to kill himself. I don't have enough time to explain it to you now but I'm leaving this phone for you. I've told Ella to give it to you and tell you anything she can to help you understand. I hope you can see that I'm not a horrible person, I was lost and you gave me direction. The first time you said the name Sherlock you gave me a purpose in life. I know I've done horrible things but it's ending tonight." He glanced at his watch before looking up to smile at the camera. "I can't explain, there's no time but Molly has understood all along and she's agreed to help. If everything goes according to plan then Sherlock Holmes is dead but Rhett will live. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me and start over honestly than know that I'm not dead"

The video ended with that. No more videos just I'm not dead. John's head was spinning. He tired to focus on everything he had just learned and to hate the man for taking over his life but all he could think was _not dead._


	3. A New Start

He couldn't help it, he had to see him again. John knew he should hate the man, should feel broken but all he wanted was to see him again. 

It hadn't taken long after watching the videos for John to decide that he had to call Molly. She had answered after the first ring. Once he had explained that he knew she had told him to meet her at The Regent's Park. 

Now here they stood in the park, the first time John had left the flat all week. He kept asking her questions. Apparently she had known all along who Sherlock Holmes truly was. She had fallen for his charm and helped him out in the lab doing most of the work. She was the scientific part of Sherlock Holmes' mind. 

"You're sure about this?" She asked him not for the first time.

"Yes, I don't care what he did. He gave my life purpose as much as I did his"

"He's completely different now. He's lost the condescending tone and he's died his hair back to it's natural color." They sat on a bench both awkward. They hadn't ever had a rue conversation before. 

"I suppose that will help not to see him as Sherlock" John looked out into the park not sure how he would feel seeing the man again. That's when he spotted him. The same tall figure though dressed differently than he had ever seen before. He was wearing simple blue jeans and had on a black leather coat over a white shirt. His hair was short and red but it was him all the same. John stood staring his feet routed to the spot as the other man gave a small smile. Sherlock or Rhett or whoever he was walked over and held out a hand for him to shake. Instead John wrapped his arms around him. He hadn't known how much he missed the man until now. He felt the taller man's arms go around him as he chuckled. 

"Hello John"


End file.
